


Mother's Day

by chaircat



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Credence Barebone Deserves Better, Credence Barebone Needs a Hug, Crying, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of past abuse, Mother's Day, Mummy Newt, percival is bad at emotions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-16
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-11-01 07:39:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10917327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaircat/pseuds/chaircat
Summary: It's Mother's Day and Credence can't help but think of Mary Lou and the torture he faced at her hands.Newt is there to comfort him and remind him that he is loved.





	Mother's Day

**Author's Note:**

> Basically I was having a horrible day being constantly reminded of the suffering and trauma I faced at my mother's hand. Then I projected all of it onto Credence and that's what this is.
> 
> I wrote this in a hurry because I needed to get it out. I'll go through it tomorrow and fix any mistakes.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Credence was suffering.

He was trying hard not to let the other two notice. He went about his usual routine, making coffee for Percy and tea for Newt and himself. He nibbled away at some toast while Percy read the paper, pictures moving around and outside of their frames, and Newt read through his notes on his creatures. Both were immersed in their activities, and so failed to notice that Credence was quieter than usual. Granted, he tended to keep to himself on the best days, so it would be hard for anyone to hold that against them. Credence certainly didn't.

Nonetheless, Credence was having a horrible day. He knew he would from the moment he woke up and remembered what day it was.

He'd gotten out of bed and dressed in a light, cozy sweater. It may have been spring, but New York liked to pretend otherwise. He pulled on his black trousers and was just about to head to the kitchen when his eyes caught on a flash of color. He turned to his desk and immediately located the distractor. Pinned to his wall was an elaborate calendar. Unlike normal calendars that held the dates and some holidays, this one also announced the movements of the stars and planets and the phases of the moon, as well as other details that Credence hadn't quite deciphered yet. The whole thing had been a present from Percy and Newt, when they had just started to teach him astronomy.

Another interesting part of the calendar was that the top half transformed to depict the day. If there was nothing special happening, the page would shift to show the weather they would be having. On birthdays, it filled up with balloons and candles and cakes. On this day, the calendar was covered in light pink ribbons and flowers all surrounding the heading.

Mother's Day.

It had been almost a year since he had been rescued from the church he'd called home. The witches and wizards from MACUSA had slipped evidence of abuse and neglect to the police and succeeded in having them arrest Ma- Mary Lou and some of her colleagues. From there, Newt and Percy had brought him home with them. He'd remained there ever since.

Credence knew Mary Lou wasn't his mother. She'd adopted him when he was very young. Percy had done some research and found that his real mother was a witch who had died not long after he was born. The cause of death was unclear. What was known was that Mary Lou had taken him in and raised him like a slave, coming up with any excuse to beat him until he bled.

Even though Credence knew this, he couldn't help but think of Mary Lou this day. Of every horrible thing she had ever done to him. Any sudden movements or unexpected noises had him flinching in his seat. He hadn't done that since the first few months of living here. He kept expecting Percy to lose his patience and curse him, like he'd seen him do to that would be thief. Or for Newt to become angry and yell at him, like he'd heard him do when the erumpent had stomped on his foot and broken it.

It was extremely unlikely, he knew. Percy and Newt had treated him with nothing less than kindness, care, and, more recently, love. They had never once raised their voices nor uttered cruel words. Still, he couldn't help but hear the words Mary Lou had spit at him bounding around his head. Every scar scattered across his body twinged in phantom pain. He unconsciously hunched over, making himself smaller. 

“This is ridiculous,” Percy announced suddenly, slamming the paper on the table. “All this black market beast trading. It's havoc for the department for- Credence?”

Credence had spilled his tea at the sudden noise and was mopping it up with some paper towels, apologizing profusely under his breath. Newt, appearing from behind his book, reached out and grabbed his hand gently, stopping his movements. Percy waved his wand and vanished the mess instantly. Both stared at Credence, Percy questioningly, Newt with concern. Credence tried to steady his breathing before answering.

“I'm sorry, I'm just- tired. My hand shook a bit and spilled the- I'm sorry.” He gave a small smile before looking down at his plate. Both noticed the smile didn't come close to reaching his eyes. They met each other's gaze and seemed to communicate silently before turning back to the young man.

“It's alright,” Newt said gently, squeezing the hand still cradled in his own. “Are you okay?” Credence kept his head down and nodded slightly. Newt’s expression only became more worried. Graves examined Credence for a moment before folding down his paper and getting to his feet.

“I have to head off to work now. It's been very busy lately. I'll meet you for lunch, yeah?” Newt and Credence nodded in assent. Percy moved closer to Credence and placed his hand on the back of his neck comfortingly, leaning down to press his lips against his hair. “I'll see you later, my love.” Credence smiled slightly and leaned up to place a kiss on his lips. Percy caressed his cheek one last time, then walked over to Newt.

“And you,” he said in mock seriousness. “No letting those creatures of yours loose in the city!” They pretended to glare at each other for a moment before breaking off in laughter. Percy gave him a lingering kiss before pulling back and ruffling his already tousled hair. He flicked Credence’s hair as he passed and wrapped himself in his coat. 

“Stay out of trouble, you two! I'll see you in a few hours.” With a wink to Credence and a knowing look to Newt, he departed.

There was silence for a few minutes after Percy left, both men finishing up their breakfast. Abruptly, Newt put down his book and turned to Credence. Credence flinched slightly. Newt stared him down for a moment before speaking.

“Sweetheart,” he started. He waited until Credence looked up and met his gaze. “What is going on with you today?” Credence looked back down and toyed with the sleeves of his sweater.

“I told you,” he replied softly. “M’just tired.” Newt frowned. He stood and moved his chair beside Credence’s, facing him. Slowly, Credence turned so their knees brushed together. Newt reached forward and grabbed his hands, intertwining them with his own.

“Credence, my heart,” he began. “I can tell something is bothering you. Percival noticed it as well. You've started flinching again. And stuttering. And you appeared positively frightened when you knocked over that cup of tea.” Credence ducked his head down further. Newt squeezed his fingers encouragingly, thumbs stroking soothingly against his skin. “You seem to be acting similarly to the way you did when you first arrived here. I'm concerned. Have Percy or I done something tha-”  
Credence looked up sharply, cutting off his words.

“No!” he hurried to say. “No, it's nothing either of you have done!” Credence was horrified that Newt could think he'd done something wrong. They made him happy and treated him so lovingly, they could never have done anything wrong! Newt smiled sadly.

“So something did happen, then.” Credence realized he had trapped himself. He looked back down at their intertwined hands and tried to find the words to explain. “You know you can tell me anything, my sweet.” Credence took a deep breath and shut his eyes before responding.

“It's just...it's…..it's Mother's Day,” he finished lamely. Newt didn't respond. Credence took another deep breath. The next moment the words came flooding out of his mouth and he was helpless to stop them. “It's Mother's Day and I know she wasn't my mother but she was all I knew and she treated me so horribly and I tried so hard to be what she wanted and be someone she could be proud of but it was never enough I was never enough and I did everything I could to earn just the slightest bit of approval even if it just meant not getting beaten that night and I can't stop thinking about it and I know you two would never hurt me in any way but I just keep remembering everything she did to me even though she was supposed to be the one that cared about me the most instead she hated me more than any other and I just want to be okay but I can't stop thinking about it and I-” here he was cut off by a sob and he fell foreword. Newt caught him and moved them both to the floor, arms wrapped tightly around his young lover and stroking his back soothingly. Credence clutched at his shirt and cried freely into it while Newt shushed him gently and rocked them back and forth.

They stayed that way for a while, Newt holding Credence. After the latter had calmed down enough, Newt led him over to the big plush couch in the living room. Newt sat at the end and Credence stretched out across the cushions, his head resting on the other’s lap. Newt ran his fingers through his hair rhythmically, lulling him into a half sleep. Just before he fell asleep completely, Newt spoke.

“She was never your mother, Credence.” Newt cut him off as he started to speak. “Let me finish.” Credence quieted down reluctantly. “No, she was never your mother. She never cared about you, nor did she pretend to. She only hurt you. You deserve better than her, my love. You deserve so much better. I can't take away what she did to you. Yes, I could remove the memories, but the scars will always remain. No,” he stopped Credence’s hand from clenching and smoothed it out. “Not physical scars. These are scars you can't see. They'll always be there, whether you remember the pain or not. No, I can't take those away. All I can do is spend the rest of my days making sure you know that Percy and I love every last part of you. Especially the scars. We love you, I love you. With all of my heart. And as long as I'm here, you never have to worry about anything. You are beautiful, you are strong, and you deserve to be happy and to be loved. Do you understand me, Credence?”

Tears had been flowing down Credence’s cheek for the majority of Newt’s speech. He didn't know what to say. He'd never had such loving words bestowed upon him. Sitting up, he turned and wrapped his arms around the other’s neck, pressing his face into his neck. Newt kissed his hair and hugged him back. 

“Thank you, mum,” Credence whispered shakily. Newt smiled and held him tighter.

~

Lunchtime came around and they met Percy at a small tea shop a block away from MACUSA. Credence immediately attached himself to the older man, hugging him tightly before moving to sit beside him. He closed his eyes and rested his head on Percy’s shoulder, reaching across the table to hold Newt’s hand. Percy kissed his head and spoke into his hair.

“What has gotten into you, baby?” he asked, raising his eyebrow at Newt, who just smiled and rubbed his thumb across the boy’s hand.

“I just love you,” Credence said quietly and nuzzled closer, eyes still closed. Percy’s other eyebrow joined the first, surprised at the show of affection. He mouthed a question at Newt who shook his head and mouthed back ‘later’. 

“I love you too, baby,” he said, smiling at his lovers. “I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Percy is bad at feelings. Newt knows that. Credence and I are one.
> 
> This was really just for me because I needed it. If you guys like it, that's cool too. Let me know what you think.


End file.
